One of the five fiends that possessed “poor Tom.” Shakespeare
got it from Bishop Harsnet's account of the Spanish invasion, where we
are told of forty fiends which the Jesuits cast out, and among the
number was Fliberdigibet. Shakespeare says he “is the fiend of mopping
and mowing, who possesses chambermaids and waiting women” (King
Lear, iv. 2). And, again, that he “begins at curfew and walks till
the first cock,” giving men pins and needles, squint eyes, hare-lips,
and so on. (Shakespeare: Lear, iii. 4.)
More on Flibbertigibbet from Infoplease:
- flibbertigibbet: meaning and definitions - flibbertigibbet: Definition and Pronunciation
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- Hare-lip - Hare-lip A cleft lip; so called from its resemblance to the upper lip of a hare. It was said to be ...
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